What Canadian books are popular right now? Check out this week's bestsellers

Here are the bestselling Canadian fiction, nonfiction and children's books from Feb. 1-8, 2025. 

All five contending Canada Reads 2025 books are among this week's lists.

• Meet the Canada Reads 2025 contenders

Bestseller lists are compiled by Bookmanager using weekly sales stats from over 260 Canadian independent stores.

Canadian fiction

Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew is the #1 Canadian fiction book this week.

Dandelion is a novel about family secrets, migration, isolation, motherhood and mental illness. When Lily was a child, her mother, Swee Hua, walked away from the family and was never heard from again. After becoming a new mother herself, Lily is obsessed with discovering what happened to Swee Hua.

She recalls growing up in a British Columbia mining town where there were only a handful of Asian families and how Swee Hua longed to return to Brunei. Eventually, a clue leads Lily to southeast Asia to find out the truth about her mother.

Dandelion will be championed by pastry chef Saïd M'Dahoma on Canada Reads 2025.

• Jamie Chai Yun Liew's debut novel Dandelion is a moving portrait of motherhood and migration

See the full Canadian fiction list below.

1. Dandelion by Jamie Chai Yun Liew
2. Watch Out for Her by Samantha M. Bailey
3. Etta and Otto and Russell and James by Emma Hooper
4. The Life Cycle of the Common Octopus by Emma Knight
5. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
6. The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny
7. We Could Be Rats by Emily Austin
8. Held by Anne Michaels
9. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
10. In Winter I Get Up at Night by Jane Urquhart

Canadian nonfiction

Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston is the #1 Canadian nonfiction book this week.

Jennie's Boy is a memoir that recounts a six-month period in Wayne Johnston's chaotic childhood, much of which was spent as a frail and sickly boy with a fiercely protective mother. While too sick to attend school, he spent his time with his funny and eccentric grandmother Lucy and picked up some important life lessons along the way. 

Jennie's Boy will be championed by thriller writer Linwood Barclay on Canada Reads 2025.

• Wayne Johnston reflects on the wisdom, wit and tough love of his mother and grandmother in Jennie's Boy

See the full Canadian nonfiction list below.

1. Jennie's Boy by Wayne Johnston
2. All the Little Monsters by David A. Robertson
3. At a Loss for Words by Carol Off
4. A Two-Spirit Journey by Ma-Nee Chacaby, with Mary Louise Plummer
5. The Certainty Illusion by Timothy Caulfield
6. Revenge of the Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
7. For the Love of a Son by Scott Oake
8. Who We Are by Murray Sinclair, with Sara Sinclair and Niigaan Sinclair
9. Fire Weather by John Vaillant
10. Chrystia by Catherine Tsalikis

Canadian kids

Paws: Hazel Has Her Hands Full by Nathan Fairbairn, illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn is the #1 Canadian kids book this week. 

In the fourth book of the graphic novel series, the PAWS squad is getting excited for summer vacation. When a gig for watching two cats arises, Hazel is the only one who has the time for it. But, her overprotective mother would never approve of her taking on the job alone. Still, she decides to give it a try to show how capable she is, but she learns that juggling everything, while keeping a big secret, is no easy task.

• 23 Canadian comics to check out in fall 2024

See the full kids list below.

1. Paws: Hazel Has Her Hands Full by Nathan Fairbairn, illustrated by Michele Assarasakorn
2. Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
3. Your Forest by Jon Klassen
4. The Animal People Choose a Leader by Richard Wagamese, illustrated by Bridget George
5. The New Girl by Cassandra Calin
6. The Squad by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Joanna Cacao
7. The Barren Grounds by David A. Robertson
8. I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen
9. The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch, illustrated Michael Martchenko
10. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline